Predicting Cognitive Decline and Dementia with the Newly Normed SKT Short Cognitive Performance Test

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this article was to determine the criterion-related validity of the newly normed SKT (Syndrom-Kurztest) Short Cognitive Performance Test with the onset of dementia as the predicted criterion. METHODS: The cognitive ability was tested with the SKT in a sample of 546 cognitively healthy adults aged 65–85 years. New cases of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia were determined in 3 follow-up investigations at 1-year intervals. Each participant's cognitive status was rated on the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale. The cognitive status according to the SKT is presented in terms of a traffic light system. RESULTS: Based on Kaplan-Meier estimators, the trajectories of the different SKT traffic light labels were investigated over 3 years. The trajectories were significantly different, representing differential risks for dementia onset. In comparison to the green group, the hazard ratio (HR) for the development of dementia and MCI amounted to HR 6.63 (95% CI 2.75–15.96) and HR 2.34 (95% CI 1.37–3.99), respectively, in the yellow group, and to HR 25.40 (95% CI 10.73–60.14) and HR 3.83 (95% CI 1.86–7.86), respectively, in the red group. CONCLUSIONS: The newly normed SKT showed a high predictive validity for the onset of dementia.